French Language Services

Complaints Process

The City of Winnipeg recognizes the importance of providing French language services to its residents and believes that being seen as a bilingual city serves as an important means to stimulate investment from local, national and international businesses who view the use of the two official languages as an important asset to the City of Winnipeg as a whole therefore City Council approved the By-law for the Provision of Municipal Services in both Official Languages (the By-law).

You can use the complaints mechanism to make a complaint when a municipal office subject to the By-law does not comply with its obligations regarding designated services, written correspondence or public consultations under the By-law.

This means that you can make a complaint when:

• A designated service is not provided to you in French.
• The quality of a designated service provided to you in French was not comparable to the quality of that service in English.
• A municipal office did not take the measures set out in the By-law to make it known to the public that a designated service was available in a person’s choice of English or French.
• A municipal office did not respond to your written correspondence in French.
• A municipal office did not provide the public with an opportunity to participate in a public consultation in French for City-wide initiatives and/or Riel District specific initiatives.

Informal Complaint Procedure

Individuals who wish to make an informal complaint can do so by:

1. Printing and filling out the Informal complaint form. Mail or fax the form to the address below:

   French Language Services Branch
   457 Main Street
   Winnipeg, MB R3B 1B5
   204-949-1174 (fax)

2. Submitting your complaint using the online informal complaint form.

The informal procedure could involve one or more of the following steps:

• Advising the branch’s supervisor/manager that the delivery of French services did not respect the City of Winnipeg Charter or By-law on the delivery of services in both official languages and ensure that your rights are respected, report a problem or raise awareness in municipal departments and special operating agencies;
• Reporting a problem to the French Language Services Branchto assist in facilitating discussions of the alleged complaint with the Department and or Operating Agency in an attempt to settle, find solutions and/or resolve the issue;
• Requesting the Manager of French Language Services to assist in informal discussion of the alleged complaint with the Department in an attempt to settle, find solutions and/or resolve the issue;
• If applicable, confirming to the Department your satisfaction with the Department’s response; or, advising the Department of your dissatisfaction with their response.

Formal Complaint Procedure

Individuals who wish to make a formal complaint must do so by filling out the Formal Complaint Form and submitting it to:

Manitoba Ombudsman Office
750 - 500 Portage Avenue (Colony Square)
Winnipeg, MB R3C 3X1
204-982-9130
1-800-665-0531 (toll-free)
204-942-7803 (fax)
General office email: ombudsman@ombudsman.mb.ca

Complaints under the Ombudsman Act must be made in writing in one of the following ways:

1. Write a letter to the office explaining why you think you have been treated unfairly.
2. Print and fill out the Ombudsman Act complaint form. Mail or fax the form to the address above. The form is also available by calling the office.
3. Submit your complaint using the online Ombudsman Act complaint form (note that if you use the online complaint form, you will still have to submit copies of any relevant documentation by mail, fax or in-person)